Amazon warns potential Surface Laptop buyers, Windows on Arm is 'frequently returned'

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Microsoft's Surface Laptop 7, a Copilot+ PC powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X platform running Windows on Arm, has been slapped with a 'frequently returned item' warning at Amazon. Amazon applies warnings to products with unusually high return rates, advising customers to carefully review their reviews before purchasing. Various third-party retailers note that products that get the warning generally see sales plummet.

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The Surface Laptop 7 has been slapped with a 'frequently returned item' warning at Amazon.

Windows on Arm relies on software emulation for several apps and games, so Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon X hardware fundamentally differ from traditional x86-based Windows machines. Although the latest Arm-based Windows devices offer excellent efficiency and battery life, software compatibility issues or poor emulation could lead to customers returning Surface Laptops.

Amazon doesn't explain why the product has been frequently returned, even though the Surface Laptop 7 currently has a user review rating of higher than 4 stars. The positive reviews reflect the consensus from the media, so it's unclear what's driving the recent spike in returns.

The recent launch of Intel-powered Surface Laptop 7 devices offers more traditional x86 stability with the bonus of Copilot+ PC features. Several posts on Reddit have made it clear that early Copilot+ PC adopters are trading in their Snapdragon X machines for Intel-based devices, thanks to Intel's Lunar Lake architecture, which negates Snapdragon's power efficiency and battery life advantage.

Another issue raised regarding the latest Windows on Arm devices is the general lack of compatibility with printers and scanners, making productivity where physical copies of documents are required - highly challenging to some. Also, gaming on Snapdragon X running Windows on Arm is not great, with several titles not running at all and others offering much lower performance than traditional x86 machines.

It'll be interesting to see how Windows on Arm evolves in the coming months. Although a return warning from Amazon is not a good sign, there are many positive Surface Laptop 7 reviews from customers praising the device and its compatibility with the apps they use daily.